Video – The secret weapon for social media

Brands are embracing social media because of its ability to drive web traffic, leads and sales, as well as its inherent SEO benefits. Social media is allowing brands to develop customer relationships and spread their message in a manner that people will listen to and engage with.

The key to social media for brands is their ability to engage with the audience, and this is increasingly being done through visually compelling content, which video helps deliver. Video also allows brands to create content that speaks directly to their target audience and connects emotionally.

Indeed, in that last few years the amount of video consumption has rocketed and there's no sign of it slowing down. Cisco's annual Visual Networking Index (VNI) report predicts that video will be approximately 86% of global consumer traffic by 2016, with the rise of mobile only fueling the demand for online video and social content sharing.

Advertising is moving from a 30 second slot people try to avoid on TV to social video content which viewers are willing to share with their social networks. Brands are waking up to the idea that overtly 'salesy' video content disengages certain demographics, whilst content that has a synergy with something current and popular will capture more attention and interest, and will ultimately be more valuable and profitable.

Video is popular amongst users of social media. According to Simply Measured, an analytics company, videos are shared 12 times more than links and text posts combined on Facebook. Video is therefore helping brands drive a number of their social media objectives, including generating engagement, increasing brand awareness and evoking a brand's personality.

For example, Peugeot realised that for the launch of the new 208 they needed to make a video for social media that their target audience (younger drivers) wanted to watch and share. This resulted in a social video that entertained the younger driver audience whilst also reinforcing the new Peugeot 208's global advertising proposition "let your body drive".

The video featured Marquese Scott, a dubstep dancer already popular on YouTube, and a popular and current soundtrack. The car itself was only ever in the background but certainly helped Peugeot reinforce their brand values and helped promote the car. The campaign resulted in 219,000 Facebook shares and almost 8,000,000 views on YouTube.

One Response to “Video – The secret weapon for social media”

There is NO secret weapon, sauce, juice, magic for social media. Video is great for generating engagement and social media marketing is about engagement so video is certainly effective, but your title is a bit over the top IMO